Device for the administration of drugs, particularly two-component drugs

ABSTRACT

The device comprises a tubular housing with two jackets and a container filled with the liquid component of a drug. Within the inner jacket of the housing, close to the closed end thereof, is a chamber containing the powdered components of a drug. A needle for piercing the stopper which closes the container enables the interior of the container to be put in communication with the chamber so as to allow the liquid component to flow out and consequently mix with the powdered component. The subsequent advance of the container into the housing, with the consequent penetration of the piston into the container, causes the further flow of the liquid component into the chamber carrying the drug solution to the exterior of the device generally like a syringe. Its use as a supplier of infusions is also foreseen.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to devices for the administration ofdrugs.

More particularly, the present invention constitutes an improvement inthe solution described in the prior Italian Industrial utility modelapplication 15156-B/89 and the corresponding DE-U-9 003 505.

The application in question relates to a device for the administrationof drugs, particularly liquids, comprising a double-walled housing whichis open at one end and closed at the other by an end wall, in which aneedle is fixed and extends substantially the entire length of thehousing. The inner jacket of the housing is threaded at least at itsopen end so as to receive a threaded spigot of a piston applied in theform of a stopper to the open end of a cylindrical container housing theliquid to be administered. The piston has an axial bore closed by adiaphragm which can be pierced by the needle when the spigot of thepiston is screwed into the inner jacket. By forming the cylindricalcontainer axially into the said housing it is possible to supply thesaid liquid product. The entirety is generally like a syringe; it isalso possible to envisage the use of this same structure as a device forsupplying infusions.

The present invention attempts principly to improve on this priorsolution so as to extend its use to the supply of drugs constituted by aliquid and a powder which must be dissolved in the liquid before use. Atpresent the usual method used with drugs of this type provides for aliquid to be drawn up from a phial into a syringe and then for theliquid to be injected into another phial containing the powdered drugand then--after the drug has dissolved--for the solution to be taken upagain in a syringe before the injection proper can be effected: asequence of operations which is rather complicated and must be carriedout with extreme care.

According to the present invention, the object is achieved by means of adevice for the administration of drugs having the characteristicsclaimed specifically in the claims which follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described, purely by way of non-limitingexample, with reference to the appended drawings; in which:

FIG. 1 is an axial section through a housing of a device according tothe invention;

FIG. 2 is an axial section through the container intended to house oneof the components, typically the liquid vector of the drug no besupplied,

FIG. 3 shows one of the elements of the container of FIG. 1 in greaterclarity, and

FIG. 4 shows the device of the invention in its condition of use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In its essentials and in its basic characteristics of use, the device ofthe invention does not differ substantially from the device which is thesubject of the prior application 15156-B/89 (and DE-U-9 003 505) towhich reference has already been made.

In particular, FIGS. 1 to 4 of the drawings appended hereto correspondto FIGS. 1 to 4 of the prior application and the same reference numeralsare used to indicate identical or equivalent parts to those used in thespecification of the prior application.

Thus, reference 10 generally indicates a cylindrical housing having anend wall 11 and two concentric jackets 12 and 13 which define An annularchamber 14 and a central hollow body 15.

Similarly a needle fixed within the inner jacket 13 of the body 10 isindicated 20.

However the solution of the present invention differs from thatdescribed in application 15156-B/89 (or DE-U-9 003 505) in that theneedle 20 does not extend through the entire length of the housing 10,that is, from the end wall 11 up to the opposite, open end of thehousing 10, but only through part of the length of the housing 10itself: more precisely, it extends through that part which is between anintermediate partition 100 within the jacket 13 and the end of thejacket which is towards the open end of the housing 11.

More particularly, one of the ends of the needle 20 passes through thepartition 100 and defines an end chamber 120 within the inner jacket 13which, in the embodiment illustrated here, occupies about a third of theoverall length of the jacket 13 itself. Naturally, this dimensionalchoice, although preferred for several reasons, should certainly not beconsidered as limiting.

The chamber 120 is intended to contain the powdered component of thetwo-component drug (liquid-powder) intended to be injected by the deviceof the invention.

For the rest, in substantial analogy with the solution described inapplication 15156-B/89 (or DE-U-9 003 505), the needle 20 terminates atits end opposite the chamber 120 in a pointed end 21 intended to passthrough the perforable stopper 31 (illustrated in greater detail in FIG.3) of the cylindrical container 30 which houses the liquid component ofthe drug to be injected. Close to the open end of the housing 10, theneedle 20 is supported by an intermediate diaphragm 22 beyond which theinner wall of the internal jacket 13 is threaded. The end of the outerjacket 12 has an external flange 16 intended to act as a hand grip foruse of the device as a syringe. The container 30 is closed by a piston31 which, in the original condition in which the container 1 ispackaged, is arranged close to the end of the container itself. Thepiston has a threaded spigot 32 projecting from the container andadapted to be screwed into the threaded end of the inner jacket 13. Thepiston 31 and the spigot 32 are traversed by an axial bore 33 forreceiving the end of the needle 20. In order to seal the container 30,the axial bore 33 is closed in an intermediate position by a diaphragm34 intended to be pierced by the pointed end 21 of the needle 20. Thepiston 31, which acts as a stopper for the container 20, is held in afixed position until the moment of use by a small disc 35 which acts asa stop seal and whose edges are bent over and clamped lightly againstthe outer surface of the drug container 30. The disc 35 has a centralaperture for the sealed passage of the spigot 32. The turned edge of thedisc 35 serves as a stop for the annular edge of a cup-shaped cap 36which serves to protect the spigot 32 and to maintain sterility untilthe moment at which the drug 30 is supplied.

In general, the housing 11 and the container 30 are supplied ascomponents of a kit or equipment packaged under sterile conditions theadministration of two-component drugs, a powdered component (containedin the chamber 120 in the inner jacket 13 of the housing 11) and aliquid component or vector disposed in the container 30, respectively.

At the moment of use, the housing 11 and the container 30 are removedfrom the kit. After the protective cover 36 has been removed (withtearing of the disc 35), the container 30 is engaged in the housing 10by the screwing of the spigot 32 into the threaded portion of the innerjacket 13 until the condition illustrated in FIG. 4 has been achieved.More particularly, the peripheral wall or skirt of the container 30,which has radial dimensions intermediate those of the two jackets 12 and13, is inserted in the annular chamber 14. During the progressivescrewing of the spigot 32, the needle 20 penetrates the axial bore 33until it reaches the diaphragm 34. As the spigot 32 continues to bescrewed in, the end 21 of the needle 20 pierces the diaphragm 34 andputs the interior of the container 30 into communication with theinterior of the needle 20 and, through the later, with the chamber 120.

In these conditions, pressure on the container 30 so as to make inpenetrate further into the annular chamber 14, causes the piston 31 toadvance into the container 30 with the consequent pumping of the liquiddrug component into the chamber 120 which contains the powderedcomponent. When a sufficient quantity of liquid has been made no flowinto the chamber 120, the powdered component of the drug can pass intosolution, with a mixing process which can be facilitated by theagitation of the assembly formed by the housing 11 and the container 30interconnected as shown in FIG. 4.

As already seen from the solution of application 15156-B/89 (or DE-U-9003 505), the end wall 11 of the housing 10 terminates with a spigot 38in which, or around which, may be arranged the bush or ring nut of ahypodermic needle.

When the hypodermic needle has been fitted onto the spigot 38 and theflanges 16 of the housing 10 are gripped with two fingers, pressure ofthe thumb on the base of the container 30 causes its further advanceinto the annular chamber 14 and the consequent, gradual and completepenetration of the piston 31 into the container 30 itself. Thus theliquid component of the drug housed in the container 30 is expelledcompletely and, passing through the needle 20 into the chamber 120,takes the drug solution formed previously in this chamber with it andenables it to be carried to the exterior through the hypodermic needlemounted on the spigot 30.

The two-component drug may thus be injected in the usual manner of useof a syringe.

Naturally, the solution of the invention may also be used for supplyinga tube for infusions. In this case, the housing 10 could usefully beprovided with a lateral air take-off for enabling the slow emptying ofthe drug container 30. In the latter case the sealing disc 35 would notneed to be removed and would ensure that the flow of liquid (and of thesolution of the drug carried thereby) occurred solely under gravity byvirtue of the presence of the aforesaid air take-off.

Naturally, the scope of the present invention extends to models whichachieve equal utility by the use of the same innovative concept.

We claim:
 1. A device for the administration of drugs, comprising:atubular housing having a double wall including an outer jacket and aninner jacket, said housing being open at one end and closed by an endwall at the opposite end; a container for holding a first liquid drugcomponent, said container including a stopper in the form of a slidablepiston, said stopper being couplable to the inner jacket of said housingand slidable into said container so as to apply a pressure to the firstliquid drug component; a chamber formed within said inner jacketadjacent to the end wall of said housing, said chamber for holding asecond drug component to be dissolved in said first liquid drugcomponent; and a needle mounted within the inner jacket of said housing,said needle having one end opening into said chamber and the oppositepointed end extending toward the open end of said housing, said needlebeing positioned such that the pointed end perforates an axial borethrough said stopper when said stopper is coupled to said inner jacket,so that said container communicates via said needle with said chamber,and when the slidable piston of said container slides into saidcontainer said first liquid drug component travels under pressurethrough said needle into said chamber and mixes with said second drugcomponent.
 2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said chamber isdefined by said end wall at one end and by an intermediate partition inthe inner jacket at the other end.
 3. A device according to claim 2,wherein said intermediate partition acts as a support for the needle. 4.A device according to claims 1, 2, or 3, wherein said chamber has avolume of about one third of the overall volume of the inner jacket. 5.A device according to claim 4, wherein said end wall of the housing hasa connector for connection to a hypodermic needle.
 6. A device accordingto claim 4, wherein the piston has a threaded spigot part for screwcoupling with the inner jacket of the housing.
 7. A device according toclaim 6, wherein a sealing disc is fixed to said spigot for ensuringsealing of the container and for preventing the axial movement of thepiston relative to the container before use.
 8. A device according toclaims 1, 2, or 3 wherein said axial bore of said stopper is closed by adiaphragm that is pierced by the needle when the housing and thecontainer are coupled together.
 9. A device according to claims 1, 2, or3 wherein the container has diametrical dimensions such as to allow itto penetrate an annular space formed between the outer jacket and theinner jacket of the housing.